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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 120 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: perch · pit · court · clip · field · suit · rash · root

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a word
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pit — in a race
  8. root — of a plant
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. suit — clothes
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. field — for sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. court — of a king
  20. pit — a hole
  21. suit — to fit
  22. rash — hasty
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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