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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: bat · leaves · chest · pitch · dip · march · perch · squash

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. dip — to sink
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. squash — to crush
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. squash — the sport
  20. march — music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. chest — of your body
  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