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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: pitch · mark · suit · bay · straw · club · band · cold

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. suit — clothes
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mark — a trace
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. club — for dancing
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. suit — in cards
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. band — a music group
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cold — an illness
  21. band — a ring
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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