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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: tear · march · suit · last · capital · perch · pitch · field

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — money
  3. pitch — completely
  4. field — for sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — the month
  8. field — farmland
  9. last — finally
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — music
  13. last — final
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. suit — in cards
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. suit — clothes
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. last — to go on
  22. perch — the fish
  23. suit — to fit
  24. tear — from crying

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