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

Word bank: pitch · fan · cap · shower · pound · race · mine · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — completely
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. race — humankind
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cap — a lid
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cap — a hat

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