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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · stem · rule · hide · bass · kick · sharp · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rule — government
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bass — low music
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bass — the fish
  19. rule — a law
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kick — in football
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stem — a stem cell

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