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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. swing — music
  4. court — for sport
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pop — soda
  7. perch — the fish
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pop — to visit
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — of a king
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — a container
  19. swing — to play on
  20. tube — the underground
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. pop — music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. swing — in golf

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