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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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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: court · craft · pitcher · foot · saw · perch · game · spring

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — a coil
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. game — wild animals
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — the season
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. craft — boats
  14. saw — the tool
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. perch — the fish
  17. game — a match
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — of water
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. game — a kind of play

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