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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: season · court · net · hide · pitcher · perch · shower · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. net — for catching
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — rain
  7. net — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. net — after costs
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — for sport
  13. perch — the fish
  14. court — of a king
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. shower — to wash
  17. season — in sport
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. perch — for a bird

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