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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. game — wild animals
  3. staff — a stick
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. season — in sport
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — final
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — humankind
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. season — of the year
  13. staff — employees
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. staff — employees
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — a contest
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stem — to come from
  20. game — a match
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. race — the arms race

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