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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — after costs
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. net — for catching
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. march — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. board — to get on
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bass — the fish
  23. board — a committee
  24. pitch — a sports field

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