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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: perch · game · net · bat · court · mate · rush · swing

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. game — wild animals
  3. net — after costs
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. net — for catching
  7. rush — hurry
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. court — for sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. swing — music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mate — a partner
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. swing — in golf
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. swing — to play on

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