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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. degree — from a university
  13. perch — the fish
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ball — a great time
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. degree — an amount
  19. court — of law
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — dry grass

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