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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. bank — for money
  5. fall — the season
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rest — a break
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — for sport
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fall — to drop
  16. root — the cause
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cell — in biology
  23. root — of a word
  24. mark — a grade

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