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

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — magic
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — to come from
  11. present — the time now
  12. tear — from crying
  13. land — a country
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. land — to come down
  18. game — wild animals

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