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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 · hand · game · stem · leaves · snap · rule · cell

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rule — government
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pit — a hole
  8. game — a match
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rule — a law
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cell — in biology
  23. snap — to click
  24. leaves — lets stay

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