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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — of ice
  6. root — of a word
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cap — a hat
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — the amount
  21. bat — the animal
  22. content — happy
  23. root — the cause
  24. fan — a supporter

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