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

Word bank: bat · race · pitch · ground · rock · bass · coach · perch

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. ground — a position
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitch — completely
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rock — a stone
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rock — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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