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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pop — to visit
  3. court — of law
  4. shower — rain
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. charge — electricity
  7. kid — child
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — soda
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. perch — the fish
  15. can — a tin
  16. shower — to wash
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — to tease
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. can — a tin
  21. wake — a trail
  22. can — to be able to
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com