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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hide · game · present · court · fan · perch · march · straw

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — wild animals
  6. present — there
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. court — for sport
  10. march — the month
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — a match
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. court — of law
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of a king
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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