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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. field — for sport
  3. root — of a word
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — in football
  6. field — a subject
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pass — a permit
  13. field — farmland
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bark — to shout
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. root — the cause

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