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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: bowl · last · chip · snap · perch · pitch · swing · capital

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. last — finally
  15. capital — money
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. snap — to click
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chip — for betting
  20. perch — the fish
  21. swing — music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. swing — in golf
  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