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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — for sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — happy
  9. drill — army training
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. face — to confront
  13. root — of a word
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — the amount
  16. root — of a plant
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. drill — the tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. drill — a practice
  23. root — the cause
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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