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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. field — for sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. key — in music
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. root — of a word
  9. field — a subject
  10. key — for a lock
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chip — to eat
  13. season — of the year
  14. field — farmland
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pop — music
  18. net — after costs
  19. cap — a hat
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cap — a lid
  22. net — in sport
  23. season — in sport
  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