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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 116 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: ball · net · bat · pitcher · branch · spell · perch · court

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. net — for catching
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. court — for sport
  15. ball — a great time
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — magic
  18. net — in sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. spell — a short time
  24. perch — for a bird

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