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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. court — of law
  4. field — a subject
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. court — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. present — a gift
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of a king
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — there
  13. file — a document
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. root — the cause
  19. field — for sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. root — of a word
  23. present — the time now
  24. bulb — for light

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