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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stem — to come from
  3. perch — the fish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. can — a tin
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — to crush
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. can — a tin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bat — the animal
  14. game — a match
  15. can — to be able to
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rest — a break
  19. spell — letters
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spell — magic
  24. stem — of a plant

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