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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. field — a subject
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ball — a great time
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ball — a dance
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. root — of a plant
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. plane — a tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. field — farmland
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. capital — money
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. root — the cause
  21. perch — the fish
  22. root — of a word
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. field — for sport

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