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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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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: wake · hide · rule · capital · perch · tear · bound · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — government
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rule — a law
  7. bound — tied together
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. capital — a city
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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