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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. field — for sport
  4. file — a tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. field — farmland
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. file — a line of people
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. cue — a signal
  16. race — humankind
  17. cue — a hint
  18. season — of the year
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a document
  21. cue — for pool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. dip — to sink
  24. saw — the tool

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