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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bass — low music
  12. court — of a king
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mate — a partner
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tube — the underground
  17. court — of law
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bass — the fish
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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