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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. row — a line
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — the fish
  14. court — of a king
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. court — for sport
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. row — to paddle
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cold — not warm
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. scale — in music

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