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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pound — a weight
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. season — in sport
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. court — of law
  10. content — happy
  11. ground — a position
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. hand — help
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ground — crushed
  18. court — of a king
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — the earth
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hand — in cards
  23. content — the amount
  24. safe — out of danger

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