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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: suit · scale · pitcher · cold · perch · present · march · deal

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — an illness
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — in cards
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — in music
  22. present — there
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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