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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stem — to come from
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — wild animals
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. land — ground
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mate — to breed
  14. game — a match
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. land — a country
  20. mate — a partner
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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