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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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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: march · fall · roll · pound · club · straw · pitch · mug

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — a weight
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. club — for golf
  7. roll — a cake
  8. mug — a cup
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mug — a face
  13. club — a group
  14. fall — the season
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. roll — a list
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mug — to rob
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pitch — completely
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pound — for dogs

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