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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: perch · pitch · tear · chip · capital · bay · date · bat

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — a city
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pitch — completely
  11. perch — the fish
  12. capital — money
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tear — to rip
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chip — to eat

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