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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 · game · fork · cold · jam · straw · safe · patient

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pitch — completely
  18. game — a match
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — a straw man

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