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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: bore · arm · cold · court · kid · vault · stick · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — not warm
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. court — of a king
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bore — to drill
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. court — of law
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. court — for sport

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