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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fall — the season
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a committee
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. field — for sport
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. net — after costs
  12. field — a subject
  13. net — for catching
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — farmland
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. scale — in music
  22. board — to get on
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. board — a flat piece

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