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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bulb — for light
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rush — hurry
  7. court — of a king
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spring — the season
  10. cap — a hat
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spring — of water
  14. court — of law
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cap — of ice
  23. court — for sport
  24. cap — a lid

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