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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bear — the animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bear — the animal
  8. race — humankind
  9. pitch — completely
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. prune — to trim
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. race — a contest
  24. prune — to trim

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