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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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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — an illness
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. squash — to crush
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. cold — not warm
  11. root — of a word
  12. spell — letters
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. foot — a measure
  18. squash — the sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spell — magic
  22. field — for sport
  23. spell — a short time
  24. dip — to sink

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