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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: shower · firm · chair · pitch · stick · ground · present · straw

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — rain
  7. firm — steady
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pitch — completely
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — the time now
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. firm — decided
  18. present — a gift
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. firm — a company
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — there
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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