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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. staff — a stick
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. staff — employees
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bass — low music
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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