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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 · land · mine · perch · rest · rash · fork · mate

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fork — in a road
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. mate — to breed
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rash — hasty
  11. court — of a king
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — a country
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rest — a break
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. court — of law
  24. fork — a garden tool

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