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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 120 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: stem · pound · perch · wind · court · march · sharp · leaves

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of a king
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of law
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. march — the month
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pound — to hit hard

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