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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pitch — completely
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. court — of law
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. spring — the season

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