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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. court — of law
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pass — a permit
  8. race — a contest
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. race — the arms race
  15. content — happy
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. court — of a king
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. plane — a tool

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