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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 120 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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. ball — a dance
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — for sport
  14. root — of a word
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bulb — for light
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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