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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. staff — a stick
  3. march — the month
  4. perch — the fish
  5. court — of a king
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. land — ground
  8. march — the month
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — a country
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. staff — employees
  16. court — for sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. pass — a permit
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. perch — for a bird

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