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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: hand · pit · stem · mate · current · board · cold · game

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mate — a partner
  5. hand — in cards
  6. current — electric
  7. board — to get on
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hand — help
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — a friend
  14. game — wild animals
  15. current — happening now
  16. game — a match
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. current — of water
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pit — a hole

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