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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — to fit
  4. rest — what's left
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. court — for sport
  8. club — for dancing
  9. can — to be able to
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rest — a break
  12. suit — clothes
  13. can — a tin
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of a king
  18. cold — not warm
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. perch — the fish
  22. can — a tin
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — of law

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