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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: squash · tear · fall · straw · stick · jam · spring · pitch

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fall — the season
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pitch — completely
  10. tear — from crying
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — of water
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fall — to drop
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. squash — the sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. squash — to crush
  24. jam — in traffic

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