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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. foot — a measure
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. court — of law
  13. drill — the tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. craft — boats
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of a king
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. drill — a practice
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. craft — a skill

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