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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: foot · court · chest · season · coach · perch · bark · fork

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fork — in a road
  5. court — for sport
  6. foot — a measure
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. court — of law
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — in sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chest — a box
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. court — of a king
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. perch — the fish
  24. foot — part of the body

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