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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.

Make a worksheet

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: court · spring · pit · mate · perch · chest · bass · ruler

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. mate — a friend
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. spring — of water
  6. bass — low music
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — for sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of law
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pit — in a race
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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