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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. toast — bread
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mark — a grade
  6. root — of a word
  7. cap — a hat
  8. field — for sport
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spell — magic
  11. field — farmland
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mark — a trace
  15. root — the cause
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. cap — a lid
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. sharp — clever
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. toast — the most admired

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