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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: game · nail · tear · lean · content · pitch · rest · straw

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rest — a break
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rest — what's left
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. content — happy
  14. game — a match
  15. content — the amount
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitch — completely
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — from crying
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. content — videos and posts

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