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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitch — completely
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — child
  9. march — music
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — magic
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — the fish
  15. spell — letters
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bulb — for light
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  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