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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: band · ground · pitch · kick · vault · hide · file · perch

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kick — in football
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ground — the earth
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitch — completely
  15. ground — a position
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. file — a document
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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