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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: pitch · fine · cap · band · wound · straw · lean · row

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fine — all right
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. band — a music group
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cap — a hat
  20. row — a line
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a ring
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lean — thin

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