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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. club — a group
  3. drill — a practice
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — of ice
  6. track — to keep track
  7. last — to go on
  8. club — for dancing
  9. field — for sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. root — of a plant
  12. last — final
  13. field — farmland
  14. root — of a word
  15. track — a song
  16. drill — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — finally
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — for golf
  21. fall — the season
  22. root — the cause
  23. drill — army training
  24. track — a path

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