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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: bat · pitch · pitcher · saw · stem · date · stick · spring

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. saw — the tool
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — the season
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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