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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. toast — bread
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. court — for sport
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. court — of law
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. fork — in a road
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. court — of a king

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