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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. pop — to visit
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pop — music
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ground — a position
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — crushed
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pop — soda
  20. pitch — completely
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. staff — a stick
  24. ground — the earth

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