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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rule — a law
  8. kick — in football
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mark — a trace
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. sharp — clever
  18. spring — of water
  19. game — a match
  20. row — a line
  21. rule — government
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. sharp — exactly

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