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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: nail · game · board · stem · straw · mine · fall · spell

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. board — a committee
  3. stem — to come from
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fall — the season
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — letters
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mine — for digging
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. game — a match
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. board — to get on
  22. spell — magic
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fall — to drop

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