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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rock — a stone
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ground — crushed
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. ground — a position
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rock — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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