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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. root — of a plant
  3. club — for dancing
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — to visit
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — help
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — farmland
  13. root — the cause
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — to sink
  16. pound — a weight
  17. root — of a word
  18. pop — music
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. club — a group
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — not warm
  24. club — for golf

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