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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of law
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ground — crushed
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. degree — from a university
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tube — a container
  17. court — of a king
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. degree — an amount
  21. ground — a position
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. row — a line
  24. ground — the earth

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