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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. root — of a word
  3. present — the time now
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. snap — to click
  9. spring — of water
  10. field — for sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — for sport
  15. perch — the fish
  16. present — a gift
  17. root — of a plant
  18. present — there
  19. field — farmland
  20. row — a line
  21. root — the cause
  22. row — to paddle
  23. court — of law
  24. field — a subject

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