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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · court · perch · roll · squash · cue · cabinet · file

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — in sport
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. roll — a list
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. season — of the year
  9. cue — for pool
  10. court — for sport
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. squash — to crush
  13. file — a line of people
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. roll — a cake
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cue — a signal
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cue — a hint
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. court — of a king

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