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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. last — final
  3. hand — help
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bound — tied together
  10. court — of law
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bound — obliged
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bore — to tire
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bound — certain
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. perch — for a bird

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