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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: kick · perch · court · stem · press · racket · rule · field

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. court — of a king
  4. field — a subject
  5. kick — in football
  6. court — for sport
  7. press — to push
  8. court — of law
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. perch — the fish
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. press — a publisher
  18. field — farmland
  19. rule — government
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — for sport
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rule — a law

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