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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: bore · pitcher · pitch · perch · drill · row · capital · ground

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitch — completely
  3. row — a line
  4. bore — to tire
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bore — to drill
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — a position
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. ground — the earth
  18. perch — the fish
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitcher — a jug

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