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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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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: last · game · saw · rule · spring · can · straw · stem

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. game — a match
  3. can — a tin
  4. rule — a law
  5. last — final
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. stem — to come from
  8. saw — the tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. last — finally
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. can — to be able to
  16. game — wild animals
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spring — the season
  21. can — a tin
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. spring — of water

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