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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — in golf
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — to play on
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — to breed
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mine — for digging
  18. swing — music
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. clip — for paper
  21. court — of a king
  22. mate — a partner
  23. clip — to cut
  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