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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: arm · hand · fork · shower · straw · cap · pitch · dip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. dip — to sink
  7. hand — in cards
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. shower — to wash
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cap — a hat
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. shower — rain
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pitch — completely

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