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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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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: pitcher · march · pitch · drill · kick · can · straw · game

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — music
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. can — a tin
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. game — a match
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. march — the month
  17. can — to be able to
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. drill — army training
  20. pitch — completely
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. drill — the tool
  23. can — a tin
  24. pitch — a sports field

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