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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. field — a subject
  7. craft — boats
  8. net — in sport
  9. root — of a plant
  10. field — for sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pound — a weight
  14. field — farmland
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. root — the cause
  19. track — a song
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. track — a path
  24. net — after costs

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