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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. stem — to come from
  5. object — an aim
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. degree — temperature
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. game — wild animals
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitch — completely
  24. can — to be able to

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