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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. game — a match
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pitch — completely
  6. scale — in music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — size or range
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pit — a hole
  15. roll — a list
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pit — in a race
  19. face — part of the head
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. prune — to trim
  24. game — wild animals

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