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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. court — of law
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — final
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — of a king
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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