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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.

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: game · rock · court · spring · prune · perch · fall · squash

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. court — of law
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. game — a match
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spring — of water
  10. rock — a stone
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. fall — the season
  19. rock — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — the sport
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. squash — to crush

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