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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 124 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. scale — size or range
  3. court — of a king
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. court — of law
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. scale — in music
  10. dip — to sink
  11. squash — the sport
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. present — the time now
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. squash — to crush
  18. branch — a division
  19. court — for sport
  20. perch — the fish
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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