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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. press — a publisher
  3. spell — a short time
  4. game — wild animals
  5. field — a subject
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spell — magic
  8. press — newspapers
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. spell — letters
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — a match
  17. press — to push
  18. rush — hurry
  19. field — farmland
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. field — for sport
  22. squash — the sport
  23. swing — music
  24. squash — the vegetable

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