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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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Word bank
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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: clip · last · coach · perch · scale · spell · pitch · dip

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. scale — size or range
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — to cut
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — in music
  8. last — final
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — magic
  12. last — to go on
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. spell — a short time
  15. last — finally
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — a video
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. dip — to sink

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