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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · mark · pitcher · root · wake · rule · stem · swing

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mark — a grade
  9. stem — to come from
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. root — of a word
  12. game — a match
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mark — a trace
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. root — the cause
  23. rule — government
  24. stem — a stem cell

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