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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. field — for sport
  18. board — to get on
  19. perch — the fish
  20. field — a subject
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. board — a committee
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitch — completely

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