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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pop — soda
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — the fish
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. root — the cause
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pop — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — part of the body

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