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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. roll — a list
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. board — a committee
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stock — shares
  12. board — to get on
  13. cell — in biology
  14. roll — a cake
  15. court — for sport
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chip — to eat
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. chip — for betting
  21. stock — goods
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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