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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: game · pitch · straw · lie · shower · press · bore · jam

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. press — to push
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lie — to recline
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. press — a publisher
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bore — to drill
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. press — newspapers

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