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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 120 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: rush · rule · bat · season · pitch · straw · sharp · fall

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fall — to drop
  3. season — of the year
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rule — government
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rule — a law
  16. sharp — clever
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fall — the season
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. sharp — exactly

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