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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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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: key · fork · straw · pitch · band · content · file · fall

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fall — to drop
  6. key — in music
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a document
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fork — in a road
  19. content — happy
  20. file — a tool
  21. key — the most important part
  22. content — the amount
  23. key — for a lock
  24. band — a rubber band

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