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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. root — of a word
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. mate — to breed
  7. root — of a plant
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. root — the cause
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. last — finally
  15. mate — a friend
  16. last — to go on
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mine — for digging
  22. vault — a safe
  23. last — final
  24. game — wild animals

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