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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.

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: mate · temple · pitch · leaves · game · clip · stem · stock

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. stock — goods
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pitch — completely
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — for paper
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. game — a match
  18. mate — a friend
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. game — wild animals
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — shares
  24. stem — to come from

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