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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. file — a tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. file — a document
  17. kick — in football
  18. rest — a break

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