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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 · squash · game · tear · perch · craft · mug · stock

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mug — a face
  7. squash — the sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. craft — a skill
  10. court — of a king
  11. stock — goods
  12. squash — to crush
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. perch — the fish
  15. court — for sport
  16. stock — shares
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. game — a match
  19. mug — a cup
  20. court — of law
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mug — to rob
  24. tear — to rip

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