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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. march — the month
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — happy
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. perch — the fish
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. march — music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — the amount
  22. band — a ring
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. key — in music

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