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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: press · clip · date · fork · pitch · chair · straw · land

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. press — to push
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. land — a country
  11. press — newspapers
  12. land — to come down
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fork — in a road
  18. clip — a video
  19. press — a publisher
  20. land — ground
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. clip — to cut

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