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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of law
  4. band — a music group
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spell — letters
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. court — for sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. band — a ring
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. court — of a king
  20. root — the cause
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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