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

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. net — for catching
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pitch — completely
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — child
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cap — of ice
  20. net — in sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. kid — to tease
  23. net — after costs
  24. game — wild animals

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