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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. wound — an injury
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. pitch — completely
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stem — to come from
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitch — a sports field

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