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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 116 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: pitch · hide · perch · snap · object · pop · bat · capital

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — to visit
  6. object — a thing
  7. bat — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pop — music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. object — an aim
  18. pitch — completely
  19. capital — money
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. object — to protest
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pop — soda

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