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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. season — in sport
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — of your body
  6. board — a committee
  7. game — a match
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. board — to get on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — of the year
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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