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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: mine · key · jam · shower · sharp · perch · season · pitch

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. season — of the year
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pitch — completely
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. sharp — clever
  13. key — in music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. key — for a lock
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — rain
  23. sharp — exactly
  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