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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 · drill · patient · racket · face · mate · plane

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. face — to confront
  7. drill — a practice
  8. face — part of the head
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — to come from
  15. face — to point toward
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. drill — army training
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pitch — completely
  24. patient — a sick person

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