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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. net — in sport
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. land — a country
  7. game — a match
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ball — a great time
  10. current — of water
  11. kick — in football
  12. net — after costs
  13. degree — an amount
  14. net — for catching
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. current — happening now
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. current — electric
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — temperature
  21. land — ground
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. land — to come down

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