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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — to come down
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. band — a ring
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — of law
  16. deal — to handle
  17. band — a music group
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. stem — to come from
  20. game — a match
  21. tube — the underground
  22. court — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tube — a container

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