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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stock — shares
  5. perch — the fish
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. dip — to sink
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. court — of a king
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stock — goods
  21. court — of law
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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