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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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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: stem · pitch · hide · stand · clip · straw · cell · calf

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitch — completely
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. clip — for paper
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stem — to come from
  24. calf — a young animal

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