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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stand · snap · perch · wound · wind · march · rule · pitch

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — the fish
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stand — to bear
  12. rule — a law
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to click
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. march — music
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pitch — completely

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