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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: snap · cap · fall · straw · pitch · land · squash · object

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. land — a country
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — a hat
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cap — a lid
  10. fall — the season
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pitch — completely
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — to come down
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. land — ground
  23. object — a thing
  24. squash — the sport

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