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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. game — a match
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — completely
  7. squash — the sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hand — help
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. wound — an injury
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stem — to come from
  19. squash — to crush
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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