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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. drill — army training
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wound — an injury
  18. drill — the tool
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rash — a series

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