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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 · file · tear · plane · pound · rule · season · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rule — a law
  4. file — a line of people
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. season — in sport
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. season — of the year
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — government
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pound — a weight
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. file — a document
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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