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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. club — for golf
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bass — low music
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. club — a group
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — a box

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