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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — a subject
  3. present — the time now
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — for sport
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. lie — to recline
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. foot — a measure
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. field — farmland
  18. root — of a plant
  19. ground — the earth
  20. root — the cause
  21. ground — a position
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. root — of a word

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