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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: chair · fan · temple · court · pound · perch · squash · spring

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. squash — to crush
  4. court — of a king
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pound — a weight
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spring — of water
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. court — for sport
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — the fish
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — a coil

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