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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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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: wound · wake · safe · staff · pitch · straw · pop · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pop — soda
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pitch — completely
  16. staff — employees
  17. land — a country
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. staff — employees
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pop — music

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