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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. game — a match
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — wild animals
  16. club — for golf
  17. stem — to come from
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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