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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: pitch · stick · trunk · march · spring · court · straw · lie

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — music
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lie — to recline
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. march — the month
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a car

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