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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pitch — completely
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. face — to point toward
  10. plane — a tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. face — to confront
  15. snap — to click
  16. staff — employees
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. prune — to trim
  19. staff — a stick
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. staff — employees
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stem — of a plant

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