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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: land · bark · ball · last · chair · stem · game · leaves

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. stem — to come from
  5. game — a match
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. land — a country
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — to go on
  11. land — ground
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. last — final
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. last — finally
  20. land — to come down
  21. ball — a dance
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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