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

Word bank: court · perch · sharp · rash · rock · arm · pound · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pound — a weight
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rock — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rock — a stone
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. court — for sport
  12. sharp — clever
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. court — of law
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rash — hasty
  22. kid — child
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rash — a series

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