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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: file · pitch · capital · rest · wind · straw · pop · roll

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rest — a break
  4. file — a document
  5. roll — a cake
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — a city
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pop — music
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wind — moving air
  13. roll — a list
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — money
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pop — to visit

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