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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 124 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. root — the cause
  5. ball — a dance
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mate — a partner
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. root — of a word
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mate — to breed
  14. field — farmland
  15. key — in music
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. key — for a lock
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — of a plant
  21. key — the most important part
  22. field — a subject
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cold — an illness

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