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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. drill — army training
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. march — music
  10. drill — the tool
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. court — of law
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — child
  19. march — the month
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. drill — a practice
  24. plane — in geometry

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