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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. root — of a word
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. can — a tin
  6. field — farmland
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. root — the cause
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. can — a tin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. field — for sport

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