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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — of a king
  6. roll — a list
  7. craft — a skill
  8. net — in sport
  9. roll — a cake
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. net — for catching
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. craft — boats
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. spell — magic
  24. perch — the fish

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