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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. spell — a short time
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — an illness
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — for sport
  14. perch — the fish
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spell — letters
  22. fine — all right
  23. spell — magic
  24. court — of a king

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