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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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 sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rock — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. spell — letters
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stem — to come from
  23. spell — magic
  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