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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. lean — thin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. saw — the tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — to come from
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — a match
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mine — for digging
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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