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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 116 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: perch · racket · wake · degree · court · snap · rock · stand

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of a king
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rock — a stone
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to click
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stand — to bear
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. rock — music
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wake — before a funeral

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