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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: perch · stem · rest · field · kick · ball · court · land

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. court — of a king
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — the fish
  5. land — a country
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ball — a dance
  8. rest — a break
  9. field — for sport
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. field — farmland
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — ground
  14. court — of law
  15. ball — a great time
  16. court — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — in football

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