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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: bass · straw · bowl · pitcher · pitch · cold · vault · row

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — low music
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitch — completely
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. vault — a safe

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