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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. craft — boats
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. band — a ring
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a music group
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stem — to come from
  24. craft — a handicraft

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