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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: ball · bat · court · bass · mug · pound · game · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bass — low music
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bat — the animal
  5. court — of a king
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. court — of law
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bass — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — a weight
  12. game — a match
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. mug — a face
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. perch — the fish
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. court — for sport
  24. game — wild animals

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