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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. content — happy
  3. march — music
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. march — the month
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pop — to visit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pop — soda
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. march — the month
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — the amount
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pop — music

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