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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. row — a line
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. perch — the fish
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of a king
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — a series
  20. band — a music group
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. band — a ring
  24. leaves — lets stay

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