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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: squash · last · chest · pitch · cabinet · cold · perch · cue

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cue — for pool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — final
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. last — to go on
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — the fish
  19. last — finally
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. squash — the sport

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