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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: bore · pop · file · row · chair · last · court · perch

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. court — of a king
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. chair — a leader
  7. perch — the fish
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pop — music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. court — for sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. court — of law
  17. pop — soda
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. row — a line
  21. last — finally
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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