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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cap — a hat
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kick — in football
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. swing — to play on
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cap — of ice
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — army training
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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