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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. field — for sport
  3. root — of a word
  4. club — a group
  5. field — farmland
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rock — a stone
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — a subject
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. club — for golf
  22. root — the cause
  23. row — a line
  24. club — for dancing

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