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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mate — a partner
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — army training
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. drill — the tool
  9. mate — to breed
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wound — an injury
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mate — a friend
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — the fish

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