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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — money
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — a city
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. file — a line of people
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. file — a tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rush — hurry
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bass — low music
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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