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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 116 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 · content · fall · ball · pit · straw · sharp · nail

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pit — a hole
  11. ball — a dance
  12. content — happy
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pit — in a race
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fall — the season
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. content — the amount
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ball — a round shape
  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