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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — completely
  3. perch — the fish
  4. snap — to click
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — the season
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. fall — to drop
  24. squash — to crush

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