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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: pitch · row · mate · press · snap · fork · straw · vault

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. vault — a safe
  3. press — to push
  4. snap — to click
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pitch — completely
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — in a road
  18. row — a line
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. press — newspapers

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