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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 · club · mouse · capital · pitch · swing · bay · season

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for golf
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. swing — music
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pitch — completely
  13. capital — money
  14. club — for dancing
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. season — in sport
  18. club — a group
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. season — of the year
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. capital — a city

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