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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: present · mouse · perch · court · wind · bat · date · chair

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. court — of a king
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. present — the time now
  19. court — of law
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. present — a gift

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