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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · straw · sharp · patient · game · stem · mate · board

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. board — a committee
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stem — to come from
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mate — a partner
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. game — a match
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mate — to breed
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mate — a friend
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — wild animals
  24. sharp — clever

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