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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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Word bank
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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: kid · perch · board · pitcher · net · march · fall · cap

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. board — to get on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — the month
  8. net — for catching
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. board — a committee
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. kid — child
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — music
  23. perch — the fish
  24. net — after costs

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