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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.

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 · rush · field · scale · bass · game · perch · suit

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. suit — in cards
  3. field — a subject
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bass — low music
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. perch — the fish
  8. court — of a king
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — a match
  12. scale — size or range
  13. suit — clothes
  14. rush — hurry
  15. scale — in music
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. suit — to fit
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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