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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mark — a trace
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pop — music
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. ball — a round shape

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