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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. court — of a king
  4. row — a line
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. court — for sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rule — a law
  15. court — of law
  16. rule — government
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. perch — the fish
  20. band — a music group
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. deal — to handle
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. row — a quarrel

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