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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. root — of a plant
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. press — newspapers
  6. root — of a word
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — for sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spell — letters
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — the season
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. field — a subject
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spring — a coil

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