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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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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: pit · stem · band · rock · game · kid · straw · mate

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mate — a partner
  4. game — a match
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. band — a music group
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rock — music
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mate — to breed
  18. game — wild animals
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. band — a ring
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mate — a friend

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