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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 124 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. court — of a king
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. perch — the fish
  7. last — final
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. net — in sport
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — to go on
  17. court — for sport
  18. bass — the fish
  19. net — after costs
  20. bass — low music
  21. last — finally
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of law
  24. cell — in biology

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