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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bat — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. board — to get on
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stem — to come from
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. race — humankind

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