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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — an injury
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. row — a line
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. club — a group
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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