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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: cold · chest · cell · pitch · bear · stem · arm · board

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. board — a committee
  11. cell — a phone
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. stem — to come from
  14. chest — a box
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bear — the animal
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pitch — completely
  24. board — to get on

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