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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 120 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 · present · perch · mark · pound · racket · cell · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. present — there
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — a gift
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. court — for sport
  18. mark — a grade
  19. court — of a king
  20. present — the time now
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. court — of law
  24. mark — a trace

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