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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. field — for sport
  3. root — of a plant
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. field — farmland
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. press — to push
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — a subject
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pound — a weight
  21. key — in music
  22. key — the most important part
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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