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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stock — shares
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stock — goods
  14. cue — a signal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitch — completely
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. snap — to click
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cue — for pool

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