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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. perch — the fish
  9. snap — to click
  10. game — a match
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — a hat
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. scale — in music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cap — a lid
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. scale — size or range

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