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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: lash · pitch · cold · bowl · perch · ground · foot · fork

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. ground — crushed
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — the earth
  8. foot — a measure
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ground — a position
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. perch — for a bird

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