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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: bound · straw · sharp · charge · pitch · bat · march · wake

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. charge — a price
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. march — music
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bound — certain
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. march — the month
  21. charge — in control
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. sharp — clever

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