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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. root — of a word
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fork — in a road
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. field — a subject
  20. root — of a plant
  21. board — to get on
  22. root — the cause
  23. hand — help
  24. field — farmland

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