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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: court · sharp · perch · season · lash · row · last · fan

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — of a king
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. court — of law
  11. row — to paddle
  12. season — in sport
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. court — for sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. sharp — clever
  18. row — a line
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. last — final
  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