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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. drill — a practice
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. board — to get on
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. board — a committee
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bass — low music
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. hand — in cards
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. hand — part of the body

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