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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: club · mate · pitch · perch · face · pop · kid · tear

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. mate — to breed
  3. tear — from crying
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. face — to point toward
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pop — music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — to rip
  10. face — part of the head
  11. club — a group
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — a friend
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — child
  17. club — for golf
  18. mate — a partner
  19. face — to confront
  20. pop — soda
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. perch — for a bird

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