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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — music
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fine — all right
  8. court — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. court — of a king
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. court — of law
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cell — in biology
  16. march — music
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cell — a phone

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