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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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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: straw · tube · chair · drill · pitch · bay · rule · swing

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. drill — army training
  9. tube — the underground
  10. drill — a practice
  11. swing — music
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rule — government
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. tube — a container
  19. swing — in golf
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rule — a law

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