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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. season — of the year
  3. file — a document
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pop — to visit
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pop — soda
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pop — music
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. net — in sport
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. net — for catching
  24. fine — a penalty

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