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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — a subject
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. march — music
  11. season — of the year
  12. wound — an injury
  13. firm — decided
  14. march — the month
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. field — for sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. firm — steady
  23. march — the month
  24. firm — a company

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