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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — of law
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. last — to go on
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. court — of a king
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. last — finally
  17. stock — goods
  18. perch — the fish
  19. court — for sport
  20. stock — shares
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. last — final

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