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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. firm — a company
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. firm — steady
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chest — a box
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. firm — decided
  19. march — the month
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — completely
  23. march — music
  24. chest — of your body

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