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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pound — a weight
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of law
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. stem — to come from
  18. court — of a king
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. court — for sport

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