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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spell — letters
  5. game — a match
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stem — to come from
  15. last — to go on
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spell — magic
  18. cap — a hat
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. lash — an eyelash

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