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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ground — a position
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. current — of water
  11. present — the time now
  12. march — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. scale — in music
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — electric
  17. band — a music group
  18. march — the month
  19. current — happening now
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — there
  23. pitch — completely
  24. present — a gift

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