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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: bass · roll · pitch · straw · wake · racket · prune · rule

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rule — government
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. roll — a cake
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bass — the fish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. rule — a law
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bass — low music
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — completely
  19. roll — a list
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wake — a trail

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