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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a match
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fall — to drop
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. game — wild animals
  10. branch — a division
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. fall — the season
  20. bass — low music
  21. pitch — completely
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. saw — the tool

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