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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fall — the season
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fall — to drop
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. press — to push
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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