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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cap — a lid
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mug — a face
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — ground
  10. mug — a cup
  11. branch — a division
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bulb — for light
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mug — to rob
  21. land — to come down
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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