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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ground — crushed
  4. field — for sport
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. net — after costs
  10. ground — a position
  11. face — to confront
  12. field — farmland
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. face — to point toward
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. root — of a plant
  22. net — in sport
  23. deal — to handle
  24. ground — the earth

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