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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pit — a hole
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pit — in a race
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. race — a contest
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. race — humankind
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rock — a stone

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