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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pop — soda
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. root — of a word
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pop — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. root — the cause
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. root — of a plant
  24. leaves — of a tree

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