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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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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: mine · object · pass · club · stand · pitch · straw · cold

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — a group
  4. pitch — completely
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pass — a permit
  7. object — an aim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. object — to protest
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — not warm
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cold — an illness
  24. club — for golf

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