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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chip — for betting
  3. swing — in golf
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. field — farmland
  7. chip — to eat
  8. root — of a word
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rule — a law
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. swing — to play on
  14. field — for sport
  15. row — a line
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rule — government
  24. swing — music

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