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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: perch · lash · season · mine · court · pitcher · present · cell

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. court — of law
  4. cell — a phone
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cell — in biology
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. season — in sport
  20. perch — the fish
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mine — for digging
  23. present — there
  24. season — to add flavour

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