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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. key — in music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — an illness
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. key — the most important part
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a tool
  15. bore — to drill
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. key — for a lock
  18. club — for dancing
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. file — a document

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