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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: straw · court · cell · press · ruler · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — of law
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — to push
  11. court — of a king
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cell — in biology
  16. court — for sport
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. press — newspapers

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