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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 116 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: court · bound · wound · swing · ball · perch · firm · prune

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — in golf
  4. firm — steady
  5. perch — the fish
  6. court — of law
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — obliged
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bound — tied together
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bound — certain
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a dance
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. swing — to play on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. swing — music
  24. wound — an injury

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