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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. band — a music group
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. court — for sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. band — a ring
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ground — a position
  11. court — of law
  12. perch — the fish
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. row — a line
  15. court — of a king
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bat — the animal
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. plane — a tool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. row — to paddle

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