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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a plant
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — final
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bound — tied together
  9. file — a document
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. root — of a word
  20. last — finally
  21. sharp — clever
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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