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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: cap · court · bark · perch · squash · rule · coach · land

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rule — government
  4. land — ground
  5. rule — a law
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. perch — the fish
  10. squash — to crush
  11. court — of law
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — a country
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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