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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: stem · game · ball · root · bulb · mine · mark · chest

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bulb — for light
  8. root — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. chest — a box
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — a match
  20. root — the cause
  21. mark — a grade
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mark — a trace

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