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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: snap · row · stem · ground · cell · swing · net · pitch

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cell — in biology
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. swing — music
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — the earth
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. cell — a phone
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. swing — in golf
  23. net — after costs
  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