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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: tube · pitch · fan · lie · sharp · plane · cold · straw

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. sharp — clever
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. tube — a container
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. plane — a tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tube — the underground
  24. lie — to recline

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