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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. key — the most important part
  4. face — to confront
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. can — to be able to
  7. root — of a plant
  8. key — in music
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. can — a tin
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. face — to point toward
  16. can — a tin
  17. root — of a word
  18. ball — a dance
  19. field — a subject
  20. rash — a series
  21. key — for a lock
  22. ball — a great time
  23. root — the cause
  24. rash — hasty

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