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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — a match
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bass — the fish
  12. court — for sport
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stock — shares
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. perch — the fish
  20. deal — to handle
  21. court — of law
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bass — low music

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