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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fork — in a road
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. date — the fruit
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. date — on the calendar

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