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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. ground — a position
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. present — there
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. root — of a word
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — to bear
  11. ground — crushed
  12. field — a subject
  13. present — a gift
  14. field — farmland
  15. root — the cause
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. field — for sport
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. present — the time now
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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