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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — to rip
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. staff — employees
  6. drill — army training
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stem — to come from
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a hat
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bass — low music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cap — of ice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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