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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. track — a path
  6. fall — the season
  7. mug — to rob
  8. hand — help
  9. mug — a cup
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. track — a song
  13. pitch — completely
  14. plane — a tool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chest — a box
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mug — a face
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — to keep track

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