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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 124 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mate — to breed
  3. key — the most important part
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. court — of law
  7. swing — in golf
  8. court — of a king
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mate — a friend
  13. swing — music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — child
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. fall — the season
  22. mate — a partner
  23. fall — to drop
  24. key — in music

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