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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. court — of law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — for sport
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. perch — the fish
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — a stick
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. land — ground
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — of a king
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. squash — the sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — to come down
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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