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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: bay · rash · pit · perch · row · court · stem · tear

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. rash — a series
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stem — to come from
  9. court — of a king
  10. row — to paddle
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — in a race
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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