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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 120 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. field — for sport
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. field — a subject
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. field — farmland
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — low music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pitch — completely
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mate — to breed

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