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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: field · perch · arm · rule · trunk · content · court · chip

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. court — for sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rule — a law
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — happy
  11. chip — for betting
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. field — farmland
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rule — government

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