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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: hand · pitcher · ground · pit · pitch · fine · straw · bay

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — a position
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — help
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pit — a hole
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. pit — in a race
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. hand — in cards

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