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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. firm — steady
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — for sport
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — for catching
  9. firm — decided
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. firm — a company
  14. root — of a word
  15. chest — a box
  16. root — of a plant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — a subject
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. field — farmland
  24. fork — to eat with

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