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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fall — the season
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. court — for sport
  18. game — a match
  19. court — of a king
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. court — of law
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. game — a kind of play

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