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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stem — to come from
  10. court — of law
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — for sport
  18. roll — a cake
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. court — of a king
  22. roll — a list
  23. pop — soda
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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