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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. roll — a cake
  5. firm — steady
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — of water
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. roll — a list
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. firm — decided
  24. straw — dry grass

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