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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — for sport
  4. root — the cause
  5. spring — the season
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. field — farmland
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. field — a subject
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. spring — a coil
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pass — a permit
  19. root — of a word
  20. last — finally
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pass — to spend time

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