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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: wind · pitcher · bay · board · bat · mine · straw · pitch

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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