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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.

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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: stick · stem · pitch · rest · coach · cold · bat · plane

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rest — a break
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — the animal
  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