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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pop — to visit
  3. ground — crushed
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pop — music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — a position
  14. pop — soda
  15. ground — the earth
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — the fish
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. court — for sport
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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