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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 120 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. board — a committee
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. board — to get on
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. file — a document
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. court — of law
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. root — the cause

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