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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: arm · bass · wound · rest · straw · pitch

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — low music
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rest — what's left
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rest — a break

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