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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: field · court · sharp · perch · rest · mate · can · game

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rest — what's left
  3. sharp — clever
  4. court — for sport
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. field — farmland
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. court — of a king
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. perch — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. mate — to breed
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. court — of law
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rest — a break
  20. field — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — a subject
  24. game — wild animals

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