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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. field — for sport
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. pitch — completely
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. capital — money
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. capital — a city
  21. snap — to click
  22. bore — to tire
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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