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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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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: toast · court · coach · tear · perch · cap · kid · chip

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cap — a hat
  5. perch — the fish
  6. kid — child
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — of law
  9. cap — a lid
  10. toast — bread
  11. court — of a king
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cap — of ice
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chip — to eat
  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