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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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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: capital · bat · hide · track · pitch · fall · perch · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — to keep track
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cue — for pool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fall — the season
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. track — a path
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. capital — a city
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — money
  19. track — a song
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cue — a hint
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. perch — the fish

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