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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. field — for sport
  3. band — a ring
  4. chest — a box
  5. current — of water
  6. last — finally
  7. root — of a word
  8. game — a match
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. current — happening now
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — to go on
  16. current — electric
  17. scale — size or range
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. last — final
  20. root — the cause
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. field — farmland
  23. scale — in music
  24. chest — of your body

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