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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 120 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: snap · pitcher · sharp · file · straw · lie · wind · pitch

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. lie — to recline
  5. sharp — clever
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pitch — completely
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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