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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. root — the cause
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. race — a contest
  5. field — farmland
  6. root — of a word
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — for sport
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. drill — army training
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — humankind
  19. board — a committee
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. root — of a plant
  24. race — the arms race

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