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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. swing — music
  3. court — for sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. court — of a king
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — to cut
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rash — a series
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. clip — a video
  17. rule — a law
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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