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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. plane — a tool
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. straw — a straw man

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