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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: stem · bowl · march · hand · pitch · plane · foot · wind

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stem — to come from
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — music
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. stem — of a plant

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