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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 124 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spell — a short time
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. date — the fruit
  5. court — of law
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. court — of a king
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — for sport
  11. deal — to handle
  12. drill — a practice
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spell — letters
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spell — magic
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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