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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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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. march — the month
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — child
  8. perch — the fish
  9. march — the month
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fine — all right
  12. content — happy
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — the amount
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — for sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — music
  21. fine — high quality
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. court — of law

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