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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — in sport
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. ground — a position
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ground — crushed
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ground — the earth
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. board — a committee
  18. stem — to come from
  19. net — after costs
  20. toast — bread
  21. date — the fruit
  22. board — to get on
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. net — for catching

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