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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. pitch — completely
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — a position
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cell — in biology
  17. key — for a lock
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ball — a great time
  21. stem — to come from
  22. key — in music
  23. squash — to crush
  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