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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · chip · cold · fan · pass · stem · bass · mine

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pass — a permit
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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