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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. kid — child
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — to tease
  15. court — of law
  16. net — for catching
  17. lie — to recline
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. season — in sport
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. perch — for a bird

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