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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — a coil
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bore — to drill
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fall — the season
  14. bore — to tire
  15. perch — the fish
  16. spell — letters
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spell — magic
  23. court — of a king
  24. coach — a trainer

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