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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · stem · kick · press · game · pitch

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stem — to come from
  4. spring — of water
  5. press — to push
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spring — a coil
  10. press — newspapers
  11. spring — the season
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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