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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · cabinet · wind · saw · deal · file · trunk · perch

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — for sport
  4. file — a line of people
  5. court — of law
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wind — moving air
  12. perch — the fish
  13. file — a document
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. deal — an agreement

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