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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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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: arm · chest · court · perch · bark · kid · spell · racket

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. court — of law
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spell — a short time
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — letters
  14. court — for sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — of a king
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. perch — for a bird
  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