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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. stem — to come from
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. last — to go on
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. board — a committee
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — an amount
  15. board — to get on
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chair — a leader
  19. last — finally
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. degree — from a university
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. board — a flat piece

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