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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ground — the earth
  3. root — of a plant
  4. ground — a position
  5. bound — obliged
  6. drill — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bound — certain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bound — tied together
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ground — crushed
  20. row — to paddle
  21. drill — a practice
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. root — the cause
  24. row — a line

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