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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: straw · squash · pitch · file · mouse · mate · stem · board

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. file — a tool
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mate — a partner
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. board — a committee
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. board — to get on
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. stem — a stem cell

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