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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a match
  4. land — to come down
  5. pop — to visit
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — a position
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pop — soda
  16. land — ground
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — the earth
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. can — to be able to
  24. pop — music

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