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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: capital · pitch · perch · squash · arm · mark · kid · calf

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mark — a grade
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mark — a trace
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kid — to tease
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — a city
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — money
  24. perch — the fish

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