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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. march — the month
  4. mark — a trace
  5. march — music
  6. last — finally
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. march — the month
  14. last — to go on
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. last — final
  17. mark — a grade
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chair — to sit on

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