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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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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — a match
  3. court — for sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. press — a publisher
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. press — to push
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wake — a trail

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