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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. court — of law
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rock — music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. game — a match
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spring — the season
  12. sharp — clever
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. game — wild animals
  18. court — of a king
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. current — happening now
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. sharp — with an edge

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