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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: content · present · arm · pitch · can · perch · bat · date

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. present — there
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. present — the time now
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. present — a gift
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. can — to be able to
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bat — the animal
  19. date — the fruit
  20. content — the amount
  21. perch — the fish
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — happy
  24. bat — for baseball

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