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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mate — a partner
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — for sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cue — for pool
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wound — an injury

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