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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. field — for sport
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. field — a subject
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pop — to visit
  17. field — farmland
  18. net — after costs
  19. craft — a skill
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. craft — boats
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. root — the cause
  24. net — in 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