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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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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 · row · bound · can · court · bank · perch · pitcher

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. can — to be able to
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. staff — a stick
  9. court — of law
  10. can — a tin
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. row — a line
  15. court — of a king
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. bank — for money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. can — a tin
  21. bank — for money
  22. bound — certain
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. row — to paddle

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