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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · court · arm · rush · degree · bowl · saw · perch

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. saw — the tool
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — a position
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rush — hurry
  15. degree — temperature
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. court — of a king
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. arm — a part of something

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