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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — for sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — help
  7. board — a committee
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. court — of law
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — rain
  17. perch — the fish
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. board — to get on
  22. court — of a king
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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