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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 116 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lean — thin
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. lean — to bend
  10. stock — shares
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. scale — in music
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pitch — completely
  19. press — to push
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. stock — goods
  23. press — a publisher
  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