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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bass — the fish
  3. court — for sport
  4. object — an aim
  5. spell — magic
  6. perch — the fish
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. object — a thing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — not warm
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — of law
  16. board — to get on
  17. court — of a king
  18. board — a committee
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — low music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — a short time
  23. object — to protest
  24. coach — a trainer

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