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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. foot — a measure
  3. track — a song
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pitch — completely
  7. track — a path
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. shower — to wash
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. track — to keep track
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wound — an injury

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