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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bound — tied together
  9. swing — music
  10. net — for catching
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. swing — to play on
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — of a king
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. kick — in football

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