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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. kick — in football
  10. stock — goods
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fork — in a road

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