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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. date — the fruit
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mark — a grade
  9. club — for golf
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — for sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. club — a group
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to click
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. field — farmland
  24. mark — a trace

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