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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — to crush
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — of ice
  11. club — for golf
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — to come from
  17. squash — the sport
  18. club — a group
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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