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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. kid — to tease
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a great time
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. content — the amount
  11. kid — child
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. ball — a dance
  20. prune — to trim
  21. deal — to handle
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. content — happy
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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