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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. can — to be able to
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. perch — the fish
  11. court — for sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. pop — soda
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pop — music
  17. cap — a lid
  18. can — a tin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — of ice
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cap — a hat
  24. pop — to visit

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