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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. press — newspapers
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pound — a weight
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. club — for dancing
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. club — for golf
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — to bend
  24. press — to push

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