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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. present — there
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — a gift
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stem — to come from
  14. present — the time now
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — from a university
  18. racket — for tennis

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