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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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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: branch · perch · field · snap · tear · ball · court · rash

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rash — a series
  4. tear — to rip
  5. snap — to click
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — of law
  9. ball — a great time
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rash — hasty
  12. field — a subject
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — of a king
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — for sport
  24. perch — the fish

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