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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. content — the amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. court — of law
  7. field — for sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. present — there
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. swing — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. swing — to play on
  17. content — happy
  18. stock — shares
  19. present — the time now
  20. court — of a king
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. present — a gift
  24. field — a subject

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