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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. rash — hasty
  2. present — there
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. present — the time now
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. present — a gift
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. plane — a tool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rash — a series
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. sharp — clever
  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