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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. land — a country
  4. root — of a word
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. season — of the year
  7. root — the cause
  8. land — ground
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — to come down
  13. field — a subject
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. root — of a plant
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. dip — to sink
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. lie — to recline
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. season — in sport
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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