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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. march — the month
  7. root — of a word
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. march — music
  10. root — the cause
  11. chair — a leader
  12. field — for sport
  13. root — of a plant
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. field — a subject
  16. rash — a series
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. march — the month
  24. tube — a container

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