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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 116 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: ruler · kid · court · mouse · wind · present · perch · land

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — to tease
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of law
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. present — the time now
  7. land — ground
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. land — a country
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. court — of a king
  20. land — to come down
  21. kid — child
  22. wind — moving air
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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