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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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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 · bay · net · pitch · cell · can · chest · bat

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chest — of your body
  6. net — in sport
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — a box
  10. cell — in biology
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. net — after costs
  17. can — to be able to
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. can — a tin
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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