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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 · field · ball · bark · press · last · prune · court

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bark — to shout
  7. press — to push
  8. court — for sport
  9. last — finally
  10. press — newspapers
  11. court — of a king
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — a subject
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. ball — a great time
  17. perch — the fish
  18. field — for sport
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — of law
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. press — a publisher

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