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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: court · perch · rash · bound · object · root · chip · pitcher

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. court — of a king
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rash — a series
  9. object — an aim
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. root — the cause
  15. court — of law
  16. object — a thing
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. root — of a word
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. court — for sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — in a computer

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