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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. track — to keep track
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. field — a subject
  8. cue — a signal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — for sport
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — a city
  13. root — of a word
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mine — for digging
  17. capital — money
  18. field — farmland
  19. cue — for pool
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. root — of a plant
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cue — a hint

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