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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.

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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: perch · bat · hand · wake · rule · mark · bank · court

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rule — a law
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mark — a grade
  6. court — of law
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. court — for sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. hand — help
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mark — a trace
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wake — a trail
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. court — of a king
  22. rule — government
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rule — to rule out

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