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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. drill — the tool
  3. season — of the year
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. season — in sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. squash — the sport
  11. club — for dancing
  12. root — the cause
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. root — of a word
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. club — for golf
  21. squash — to crush
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. club — a group

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