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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. field — a subject
  3. staff — employees
  4. fork — in a road
  5. content — the amount
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. staff — employees
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. content — happy
  10. wake — a trail
  11. last — finally
  12. field — farmland
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. root — of a word
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. field — for sport
  18. scale — size or range
  19. last — final
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. staff — a stick
  22. root — the cause
  23. last — to go on
  24. scale — in 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