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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. root — of a plant
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. field — a subject
  5. season — of the year
  6. root — of a word
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. court — for sport
  11. season — in sport
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. wake — a trail
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. plane — a tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. root — the cause

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