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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: clip · fan · object · ground · can · game · toast · stem

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. ground — a position
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — a thing
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. clip — to cut
  8. can — to be able to
  9. object — to protest
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — an aim
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. game — a match
  22. can — a tin
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. can — a tin

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