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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: pitch · fan · stem · wax · shower · root · game · board

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. game — a match
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. root — of a word
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. board — a committee
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. shower — rain

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