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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rock — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. branch — a division
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bear — the animal
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. court — of law
  13. swing — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — the fish
  18. mine — for digging
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bat — in an idiom

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