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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: perch · bay · wound · race · bowl · court · chair · tube

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. race — humankind
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. perch — the fish
  6. court — of law
  7. tube — the underground
  8. court — for sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. chair — a leader
  22. tube — a container
  23. court — of a king
  24. bowl — a football final

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