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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. stock — shares
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. mug — a face
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — not warm
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mug — a cup
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. stock — goods

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