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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. board — to get on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. perch — the fish
  9. board — a committee
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fall — the season

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