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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: suit · cell · game · current · pitch · stem · capital · tear

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. capital — money
  3. stem — to come from
  4. suit — clothes
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. suit — to fit
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. current — happening now
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. game — wild animals
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. current — of water
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pitch — completely
  17. current — electric
  18. tear — to rip
  19. capital — a city
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in biology
  22. game — a match
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. game — a kind of play

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