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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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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: pitcher · bay · spring · pop · coach · sharp · clip · perch

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — clever
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — music
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. spring — the season
  19. perch — the fish
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bay — a horse colour

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