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

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitch — completely
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wind — moving air
  18. foot — a measure

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