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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. shower — to wash
  6. root — of a plant
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pop — music
  9. dip — to sink
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. field — for sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. shower — rain
  16. row — to paddle
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. field — farmland
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — the cause
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. root — of a word
  24. row — a line

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