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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — wild animals
  4. track — to keep track
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a song
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. charge — in control
  10. game — a match
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a path
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. board — a committee
  18. charge — electricity
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. charge — a price
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. prune — to trim

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