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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. bound — certain
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pop — music
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. bound — tied together
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — soda
  13. bound — obliged
  14. perch — the fish
  15. spring — of water
  16. plane — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. spring — the season
  19. court — of law
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. spring — a coil
  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