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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 120 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. stem — to come from
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pitch — completely
  13. net — in sport
  14. suit — clothes
  15. net — for catching
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. net — after costs
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. suit — to fit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stem — a stem cell

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