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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. row — a line
  3. court — of a king
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. spell — letters
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. key — for a lock
  10. court — of law
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. court — for sport
  13. spell — magic
  14. key — in music
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. band — a music group
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spell — a short time
  22. band — a ring
  23. deal — to handle
  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