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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: court · ball · spell · sharp · game · bulb · perch · pitcher

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. game — a match
  6. court — for sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bulb — for light
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. sharp — clever
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spell — magic
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. perch — the fish
  22. ball — a great time
  23. court — of a king
  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