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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — hasty
  4. root — of a word
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cap — of ice
  7. sharp — clever
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. field — farmland
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — for sport
  14. cap — a hat
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. root — of a plant
  23. deal — to handle
  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