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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. saw — the tool
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fall — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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