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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: stem · rule · pitch · race · fall · foot · pop · wound

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rule — a law
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pitch — completely
  11. fall — the season
  12. foot — a measure
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pop — soda
  15. rule — government
  16. pop — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. race — a contest
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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