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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitch — completely
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mark — a grade
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. season — of the year
  14. stock — goods
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bass — low music
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stock — shares
  22. stem — to come from
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pitch — a sports field

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