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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. court — of law
  4. pop — soda
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. object — an aim
  7. season — in sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spring — of water
  10. season — of the year
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. object — a thing
  13. spring — the season
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spring — a coil
  16. court — for sport
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. court — of a king
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pop — music
  22. object — to protest
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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