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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. court — of law
  6. last — finally
  7. court — for sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. court — of a king
  12. ground — a position
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. last — final
  15. snap — to click
  16. last — to go on
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. ground — the earth
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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