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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ground — a position
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ground — the earth
  11. court — of law
  12. prune — to trim
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — crushed
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rest — a break
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. perch — the fish
  22. court — for sport
  23. bound — certain
  24. rest — what's left

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