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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. land — to come down
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. land — ground
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. firm — decided
  9. cell — a phone
  10. court — of a king
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. firm — a company
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — for sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. court — of law
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hide — animal skin

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