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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
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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 · ball · straw · ruler · spring · roll · rule · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spring — the season
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ball — a dance
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. spring — of water
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rule — government
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. roll — a list
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ball — a great time

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