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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. present — a gift
  3. race — the arms race
  4. root — the cause
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — the time now
  8. field — for sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — a subject
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. present — there
  17. cell — a phone
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. field — farmland
  24. bass — the instrument

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