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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 116 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: spring · perch · bark · court · wave · clip · fork · pitch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of a king
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. court — for sport
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spring — a coil

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