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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kid — child
  3. season — in sport
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. shower — rain
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. march — the month
  20. season — of the year
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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