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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: mine · pop · cell · nail · perch · pitcher · court · season

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pop — music
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of a king
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. season — of the year
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — belonging to me

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