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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: pitch · wind · straw · cell · ball · ground · nail · dip

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. wind — moving air
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — a position
  15. cell — a phone
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cell — in biology
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — a sports field

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