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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · leaves · bowl · hand · court · perch · track · chair

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. track — a song
  5. court — of law
  6. hand — help
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. perch — the fish
  12. court — of a king
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — to keep track
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. track — a path
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. chair — a professorship

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