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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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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: root · kid · court · ball · wind · foot · perch · fine

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of a king
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kid — to tease
  14. ball — a great time
  15. court — for sport
  16. root — of a plant
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. kid — child
  19. wind — moving air
  20. foot — a measure
  21. ball — a dance
  22. court — of law
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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