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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. court — of a king
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. can — a tin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bat — the animal
  15. can — to be able to
  16. squash — to crush
  17. can — a tin
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. court — of law
  24. wave — of the sea

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