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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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 sports field
  3. perch — the fish
  4. capital — money
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — to eat
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. lie — to recline
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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