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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mate — a partner
  17. scale — in music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. scale — for weighing

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