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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — for sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bank — for money
  8. court — of law
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kick — in football
  11. court — of a king
  12. bank — of a river
  13. tube — a container
  14. rest — what's left
  15. perch — the fish
  16. tube — the underground
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spell — letters
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bank — for money
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a line

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