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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · file · wound · root · perch · rash · court · wave

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. court — of law
  3. root — the cause
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. court — for sport
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. court — of a king
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wound — an injury
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a line of people
  14. root — of a word
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a tool
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rash — a series
  24. wave — of the sea

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