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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: net · perch · drill · kid · court · spring · leaves · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. ground — a position
  2. drill — army training
  3. net — in sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — of water
  6. drill — the tool
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ground — the earth
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kid — child
  11. ground — crushed
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — for catching
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. court — for sport
  19. drill — a practice
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. net — after costs
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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