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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: lean · stem · chest · field · pitch · date · bound · dip

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. pitch — completely
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chest — a box
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. field — farmland
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. field — a subject
  11. lean — thin
  12. chest — of your body
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. field — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bound — tied together
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  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