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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. spring — the season
  3. roll — a list
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. roll — a cake
  7. root — the cause
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. spring — of water
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pass — a permit
  19. field — a subject
  20. foot — a measure
  21. root — of a word
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — for sport
  24. foot — part of the body

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