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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: kick · pit · field · kid · pitch · hand · perch · bound

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pit — a hole
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitch — completely
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. hand — help
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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