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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. ground — a position
  5. wound — an injury
  6. board — to get on
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. field — farmland
  9. root — of a word
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fork — in a road
  15. file — a line of people
  16. root — the cause
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. file — a tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. root — of a plant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. board — a committee
  24. field — a subject

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