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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: cold · content · stem · scale · stick · rash · pitch · ball

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. content — happy
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rash — a series
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — in music
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. rash — hasty
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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