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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: bowl · pitch · foot · saw · bark · bat · perch · straw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bark — to shout
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bat — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pitch — completely

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