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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fall — the season
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — money
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. capital — a city
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. prune — the fruit

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