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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.

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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. last — to go on
  4. drill — army training
  5. prune — to trim
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hand — help
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — the fish
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. hand — in cards
  15. court — of law
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — for sport
  18. drill — a practice
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. drill — the tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — finally
  23. prune — to trim
  24. hand — part of the body

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