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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. last — to go on
  4. row — to paddle
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. row — a line
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. drill — army training
  13. stem — to come from
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. game — a match
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. game — wild animals
  24. arm — part of the body

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