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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. board — to get on
  3. root — of a plant
  4. board — a committee
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. prune — to trim
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rash — a series
  13. field — a subject
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. prune — to trim
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. sharp — clever
  20. root — the cause
  21. field — farmland
  22. root — of a word
  23. swing — music
  24. rash — hasty

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