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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stock — goods
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. march — music
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a document
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. face — to confront
  23. stock — shares
  24. face — to point toward

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