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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mug — a face
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. kick — in football
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — ground
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — magic
  18. land — to come down
  19. mug — to rob
  20. court — for sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. court — of a king
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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