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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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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: lean · fine · perch · cue · mark · court · cold · band

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. band — a ring
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mark — a trace
  12. lean — thin
  13. court — of a king
  14. cue — a hint
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. fine — high quality
  17. court — of law
  18. mark — a grade
  19. fine — all right
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. band — a music group
  24. court — for sport

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