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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. hand — help
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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