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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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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: pitch · stem · object · temple · shower · straw · rock · game

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. object — to protest
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. object — an aim
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. game — a match
  14. object — a thing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. shower — rain
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. straw — dry grass

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