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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spell — magic
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spring — of water
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spell — a short time
  9. game — a match
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spell — letters
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — wild animals
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a ring
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. spring — the season
  24. band — a music group

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