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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: court · ball · perch · present · race · cold · prune · foot

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. present — there
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — the arms race
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. race — humankind
  11. prune — to trim
  12. race — a contest
  13. ball — a great time
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — a measure
  19. present — a gift
  20. perch — the fish
  21. present — the time now
  22. prune — to trim
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. court — for sport

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