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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: straw · date · press · pitch · bay · content · hand · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. press — newspapers
  4. hand — in cards
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. press — to push
  15. content — happy
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. hand — help
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. press — a publisher

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