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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: stem · game · scale · fan · net · race · season · hide

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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. season — of the year
  4. race — humankind
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. race — a contest
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. scale — in music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. scale — size or range
  15. season — in sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. game — a match
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — wild animals
  20. net — for catching
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. net — in sport
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. race — the arms race

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