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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. tube — a container
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. court — of law
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. perch — the fish
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. court — of a king
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. tube — the underground
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chair — a leader
  20. clip — a video
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. court — for sport

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