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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. root — of a word
  3. field — for sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. drill — army training
  7. snap — to click
  8. rest — a break
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. field — farmland
  11. root — of a plant
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. drill — the tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. field — a subject
  21. last — final
  22. rush — hurry
  23. drill — a practice
  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