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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: drill · wake · mark · face · pit · perch · court · rash

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. court — of law
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rash — a series
  6. court — for sport
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mark — a grade
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mark — a trace
  12. perch — the fish
  13. drill — army training
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. face — to confront
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. court — of a king
  24. drill — a practice

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