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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wax — to grow
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. rash — a series
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hand — help
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — in cards
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. dip — to sink
  24. hand — part of the body

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