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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 116 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: land · pound · saw · face · court · game · stem · rest

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rest — what's left
  15. saw — the tool
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — a country
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. face — to point toward
  24. court — of a king

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