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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 116 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
468
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: object · perch · cue · pitch · file · spring · row · scale

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cue — a hint
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cue — for pool
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cue — a signal
  11. row — a line
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. object — an aim
  14. file — a document
  15. object — a thing
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. file — a line of people
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — in music
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spring — of water

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