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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. charge — electricity
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. capital — money
  8. bass — the fish
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. charge — a price
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — in a race
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. charge — in control
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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