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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. scale — size or range
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. scale — in music
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — the animal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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