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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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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. root — the cause
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. mark — a grade
  6. present — there
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — a subject
  9. root — of a word
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ground — the earth
  17. root — of a plant
  18. ground — a position

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