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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — electricity
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. charge — a price
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. game — a match
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. charge — in control
  21. bass — low music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. chest — a box

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