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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ground — a position
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. dip — to sink
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. field — a subject
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. root — of a word
  21. field — farmland
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. root — the cause

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