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

Word bank: pitch · cell · bound · stem · race · kid

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — child
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — humankind
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bound — tied together

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