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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. court — of a king
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. content — the amount
  10. club — a group
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. club — for dancing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — for sport
  17. club — for golf
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — of law
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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