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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stem — to come from
  7. squash — to crush
  8. current — happening now
  9. hand — in cards
  10. current — of water
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — the sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. current — electric
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — help
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pitcher — a jug

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