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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: rest · arm · drill · leaves · perch · row · cold · court

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. drill — the tool
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. court — of a king
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. drill — army training
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. perch — the fish
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cold — not warm
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — for sport
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rest — what's left

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