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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spring — of water
  10. scale — in music
  11. cell — a phone
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lie — to recline
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. rock — a stone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — the season

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