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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. firm — a company
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — help
  12. firm — steady
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. firm — decided
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bowl — a football final

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