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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: straw · shower · bass · toast · tube · pitch · march · rule

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tube — a container
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. march — the month
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. rule — a law
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rule — government
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bass — the fish
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. toast — bread
  21. pitch — completely
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bass — low music

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