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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 124 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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468
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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitch — completely
  4. court — for sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. court — of a king
  7. root — of a word
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rest — a break
  10. file — a tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. court — of law
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. root — of a plant
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. root — the cause
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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