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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: race · ball · stem · cap · cell · game · lash · pitch

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. ball — a dance
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. race — humankind
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cap — of ice
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. ball — a great time
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cap — a lid

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