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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — a subject
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. root — the cause
  8. field — farmland
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. plane — a tool
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. drill — army training
  24. field — for sport

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