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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. race — humankind
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. can — a tin
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. race — a contest
  13. can — a tin
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. can — to be able to
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitch — completely
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wound — an injury
  22. race — the arms race
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pitch — a sports field

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