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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. board — a committee
  5. root — the cause
  6. game — a match
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. root — of a word
  12. net — for catching
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. bore — to tire
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cell — a phone
  20. board — to get on
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bore — to drill
  24. root — of a plant

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