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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: court · wound · pitcher · pass · pit · cold · ruler · stem

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of law
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pass — a permit
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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