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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: court · bass · perch · cell · pop · rush · game · lie

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pop — to visit
  4. game — a match
  5. cell — a phone
  6. court — of a king
  7. pop — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. perch — the fish
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bass — low music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. lie — to recline
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rush — hurry
  24. lie — an untruth

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