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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: court · face · perch · clip · pitch · cabinet · wave · row

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. court — of law
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. face — to confront
  5. clip — for paper
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. face — to point toward
  13. row — a line
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. clip — a video
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. court — for sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — of a king
  23. perch — the fish
  24. row — a quarrel

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