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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — obliged
  6. march — music
  7. game — a match
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chip — to eat
  10. game — wild animals
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. chip — for betting
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — in a road
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. pitch — completely
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bound — certain
  24. stem — to come from

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