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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 116 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: racket · wind · pitch · squash · cell · nail · leaves · straw

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. squash — the sport
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cell — in biology
  15. squash — to crush
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. wind — moving air

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