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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: straw · wound · sharp · pitch · bulb · race · saw · racket

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — completely
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. race — a contest
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. race — the arms race
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — the tool
  24. race — humankind

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