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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: ground · straw · snap · lie · saw · pound · pitch · current

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. ground — a position
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. current — happening now
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. current — of water
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — electric
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pitch — completely
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. snap — to click
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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