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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.

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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. band — a music group
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. net — in sport
  9. root — the cause
  10. pitch — completely
  11. swing — in golf
  12. snap — to click
  13. net — for catching
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. sharp — clever
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. root — of a word
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. root — of a plant
  21. band — a ring
  22. net — after costs
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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