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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. pop — soda
  4. hand — help
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. pop — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — a subject
  13. fine — high quality
  14. charge — a price
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. charge — electricity
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. charge — in control
  24. field — farmland

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