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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 120 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 · tube · current · face · cap · bat · season · pitch

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pitch — completely
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. face — to confront
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. season — in sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tube — the underground
  18. season — of the year
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cap — a hat
  22. current — of water
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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