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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: field · pitch · capital · vault · snap · perch · prune · key

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — for sport
  4. vault — a safe
  5. perch — the fish
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a city
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitch — completely
  13. key — the most important part
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. key — for a lock
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. capital — money
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. key — in music
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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