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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — to tire
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bat — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. season — in sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bulb — for light
  22. hand — help
  23. season — of the year
  24. pitcher — a jug

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