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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — for sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — the earth
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. field — farmland
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — a subject
  24. game — a match

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