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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pop — to visit
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. spell — a short time
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — to go on
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pop — music
  10. court — of law
  11. spell — letters
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. last — final
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — finally
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — magic
  22. season — in sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. patient — a sick person

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