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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. key — the most important part
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fork — in a road
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. court — of a king
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. branch — a division
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. key — for a lock
  17. court — of law
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. key — in music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. court — for sport
  23. rash — a series
  24. branch — of a tree

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