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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — to come from
  9. present — there
  10. shower — to wash
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. present — a gift
  16. pitch — completely
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. net — for catching
  19. present — the time now
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. perch — for a bird

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