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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. root — the cause
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bank — for money
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. bank — for money
  10. board — to get on
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. board — a committee
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. perch — the fish
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — the animal
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bank — of a river
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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