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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. land — to come down
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — a subject
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. race — the arms race
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — farmland
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. land — ground
  13. root — of a word
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fall — to drop
  16. net — in sport
  17. land — a country
  18. fall — the season
  19. root — of a plant
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. mark — a trace
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — after costs

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