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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 124 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of a king
  6. scale — in music
  7. file — a line of people
  8. staff — employees
  9. date — the fruit
  10. file — a tool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. staff — a stick
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — all right
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of law
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fine — high quality
  22. file — a document
  23. chest — a box
  24. court — for sport

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