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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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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 · season · perch · stem · wound · charge · bat · nail

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. perch — the fish
  9. charge — a price
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. stem — to come from
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. charge — in control
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. court — of law
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — of a king
  24. bat — in an idiom

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