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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. root — of a word
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. object — a thing
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cap — a lid
  8. ground — the earth
  9. object — an aim
  10. ground — a position
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bear — the animal
  13. root — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — in music
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. object — to protest
  21. ground — crushed
  22. field — a subject
  23. cap — a hat
  24. root — the cause

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