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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: perch · present · net · kid · rest · court · chair · sharp

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. net — in sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. court — of a king
  11. sharp — clever
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. chair — a leader
  15. kid — to tease
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — child
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. present — the time now
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. sharp — exactly

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