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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: straw · pitch · bass · rule · last · present · stick · date

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. last — finally
  4. bass — low music
  5. last — to go on
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. present — there
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — final
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. present — the time now
  19. rule — a law
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — completely

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