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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. track — a song
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tube — the underground
  7. season — in sport
  8. game — a match
  9. squash — to crush
  10. track — a path
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. track — to keep track
  13. squash — the sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. game — wild animals
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. court — for sport

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