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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: race · stem · pitch · file · wound · stock · chest · charge

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — a price
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a document
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stock — goods
  11. race — humankind
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitch — completely
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. charge — in control
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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