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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 · chair · field · dip · track · perch · kid · rash

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. court — of a king
  6. field — for sport
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — to tease
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a song
  13. court — of law
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. field — farmland
  17. rash — hasty
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rash — a series
  22. field — a subject
  23. kid — child
  24. court — for sport

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