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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · straw · mouse · game · fan · perch · bark · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. game — a match
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. court — for sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. court — of law
  15. bark — to shout
  16. kick — in football
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. straw — a straw man
  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