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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: staff · perch · shower · sharp · court · bound · ruler · wind

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — for sport
  6. bound — obliged
  7. staff — a stick
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. staff — employees
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — clever
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bound — tied together
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. court — of a king
  19. bound — certain
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. staff — employees

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