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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. root — of a word
  5. field — farmland
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — the earth
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. field — for sport
  10. rest — a break
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rest — what's left
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause

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