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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. field — for sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mark — a grade
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. root — of a word
  13. file — a document
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. current — of water
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. current — happening now
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mark — a trace
  21. root — the cause
  22. current — electric
  23. field — farmland
  24. root — of a plant

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