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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — the cause
  3. field — farmland
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. root — of a word
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. lie — to recline
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bat — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. drill — army training
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fine — a penalty

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