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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: arm · spring · straw · present · fork · club · pitch · shower

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — rain
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. pitch — completely
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — in a road
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. present — the time now
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — to wash
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spring — of water
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. spring — a coil
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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