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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. drill — a practice
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cue — a hint
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — the tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cue — for pool
  15. race — humankind
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pitch — completely
  19. prune — to trim
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. drill — army training
  24. cue — a signal

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