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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — of ice
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. season — of the year
  8. stem — to come from
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cap — a hat
  11. spell — letters
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cap — a lid
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pitch — completely

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