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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 · cold · wave · pitch · bay · coach · pound · sharp

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. sharp — exactly

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