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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bank — of a river
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — a measure
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bank — for money
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bank — for money
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. perch — for a bird

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