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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — for catching
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitch — completely
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rash — a series
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rest — a break
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kid — child

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