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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 · pitch · current · straw · chest · sharp · bulb · wound

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. current — of water
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. current — electric
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — a box
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. chest — of your body
  22. current — happening now
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wound — an injury

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