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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. present — there
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — the time now
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tube — a container
  8. snap — to click
  9. fall — to drop
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. present — a gift
  12. fall — the season
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pitch — completely
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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