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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: game · perch · pitch · straw · kick · racket · tear · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — wild animals
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. tear — to rip
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. kick — in football
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. dip — to sink
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kick — a thrill

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