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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spell · saw · straw · club · suit · march · trunk · pitch

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — magic
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. spell — letters
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. march — music
  10. club — a group
  11. suit — clothes
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. suit — to fit
  15. spell — a short time
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. suit — in cards
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. saw — the tool
  22. club — for dancing
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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