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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: date · straw · pitch · jam · track · wound · court · bear

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bear — the animal
  9. track — a song
  10. court — of a king
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitch — completely
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. court — for sport
  20. date — the fruit
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. court — of law
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wound — an injury

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