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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — the earth
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ground — a position
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. shower — rain
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. game — a kind of play

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