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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 120 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: bark · calf · hand · pitch · saw · capital · perch · craft

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. craft — boats
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bark — to shout
  5. saw — the tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitch — completely
  11. capital — a city
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. craft — a skill
  17. capital — money
  18. hand — help
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bark — of a tree

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