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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stem — to come from
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tube — a container
  5. saw — the tool
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cap — of ice
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. club — a group
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cap — a lid
  17. club — for golf
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. saw — the tool
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. tube — the underground
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — wild animals

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