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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: pound · bowl · saw · pop · perch · court · date · tear

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tear — to rip
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pound — a weight
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. perch — the fish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — for sport
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tear — from crying
  20. court — of a king
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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