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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: plane · coach · game · perch · pitcher · pop · staff · cold

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. staff — employees
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — not warm
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — an illness
  14. game — a match
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pop — soda
  17. staff — employees
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. plane — a tool

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