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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — a series
  3. field — a subject
  4. root — of a plant
  5. file — a document
  6. field — farmland
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. root — the cause
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. root — of a word
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. file — a tool
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a dish

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