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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: lean · perch · row · date · board · bat · court · bay

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. date — the fruit
  9. court — of law
  10. board — a committee
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. board — to get on
  14. row — a line
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. court — for sport
  17. lean — thin
  18. court — of a king
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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