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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. scale — size or range
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pitch — completely
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. key — in music
  23. perch — the fish
  24. scale — for weighing

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