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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. spell — letters
  3. rock — a stone
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — a subject
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. root — of a word
  8. clip — to cut
  9. root — the cause
  10. spell — magic
  11. field — for sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — a video
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rock — music
  18. fork — in a road
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — a match
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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