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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 116 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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. net — for catching
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — the cause
  8. march — the month
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bear — the animal
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — farmland
  21. root — of a word
  22. field — for sport
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — the Cold War

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