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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: chip · court · cell · press · capital · fork · mate · perch

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. court — of a king
  3. mate — to breed
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. court — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. court — of law
  10. press — newspapers
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mate — a partner
  13. capital — money
  14. press — to push
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cell — a phone
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chip — for betting
  19. press — a publisher
  20. capital — a city
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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