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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cap — of ice
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — for paper
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. ground — a position
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitch — completely
  18. prune — to trim
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — to cut
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — a video
  24. stem — a stem cell

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