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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. ground — a position
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. file — a tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. file — a document
  10. bass — low music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. race — a contest
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. race — the arms race
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. pitch — completely

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