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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. perch — the fish
  3. court — for sport
  4. suit — to fit
  5. last — finally
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. court — of law
  9. suit — in cards
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of a king
  17. suit — clothes
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. last — to go on
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cell — a phone

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