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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: roll · file · march · ground · saw · bulb · pitch · straw

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a cake
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. march — music
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitch — completely
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. saw — the tool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. file — a tool
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. roll — a list
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. file — a document

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