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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wound — an injury
  3. perch — the fish
  4. kick — in football
  5. bore — to drill
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bore — to tire
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitch — completely
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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