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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spring — of water
  5. cue — a signal
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. court — of a king
  9. cue — a hint
  10. court — of law
  11. key — in music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — the fish
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tear — to rip
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. spring — a coil
  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