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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cold — an illness
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. track — a path
  10. field — a subject
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — moving air
  17. craft — boats
  18. tear — from crying
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. track — a song
  22. root — the cause
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — to turn a key

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