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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: perch · present · sharp · pitcher · bear · pit · land · cell

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bear — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. present — a gift
  7. bear — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a hole
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cell — a phone
  19. land — to come down
  20. present — there
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. present — the time now
  23. perch — the fish
  24. land — a country

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