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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — of law
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. court — for sport
  11. root — of a plant
  12. net — in sport
  13. root — the cause
  14. last — final
  15. court — of a king
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bound — certain
  19. net — after costs
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pit — a hole
  24. root — of a word

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