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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: face · cold · pitch · dip · row · stem · wound · jam

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. row — to paddle
  6. face — to confront
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pitch — completely
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — a line
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cold — not warm

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