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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: ball · fine · cell · firm · perch · foot · content · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. ball — a great time
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. content — happy
  10. firm — a company
  11. content — the amount
  12. court — of a king
  13. firm — decided
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — a phone
  22. court — for sport
  23. firm — steady
  24. foot — a measure

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