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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 common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. court — of law
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cell — in biology
  8. band — a ring
  9. face — to point toward
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. court — of a king
  13. fork — in a road
  14. court — for sport
  15. face — to confront
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — part of the head
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cell — a phone
  24. hand — help

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