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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.

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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: track · court · present · season · march · perch · pop · root

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. season — in sport
  3. court — of law
  4. march — the month
  5. present — the time now
  6. march — music
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. root — the cause
  10. season — of the year
  11. track — a song
  12. pop — soda
  13. root — of a plant
  14. court — of a king
  15. present — there
  16. pop — to visit
  17. track — to keep track
  18. court — for sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pop — music
  21. present — a gift
  22. root — of a word
  23. track — a path
  24. march — the month

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