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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chest — a box
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. game — a match
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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