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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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Word bank
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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: lie · mine · bulb · fork · jam · pit · straw · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pit — a hole
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bulb — for light
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. pitch — completely
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bulb — of a plant

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