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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. face — part of the head
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. content — happy
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a lid
  19. face — to confront
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pitch — completely
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bound — obliged

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