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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stem — to come from
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. plane — a tool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a music group
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stock — shares
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. band — a ring

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