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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. prune — to trim
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of a king
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. court — of law
  7. clip — for paper
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. perch — the fish
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — to trim
  15. board — a committee
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. suit — in cards
  19. suit — to fit
  20. clip — a video
  21. suit — clothes
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. board — to get on
  24. straw — dry grass

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