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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. key — for a lock
  3. field — for sport
  4. root — of a plant
  5. field — a subject
  6. land — ground
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — to come down
  12. club — for golf
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. club — a group
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. land — a country
  24. club — for dancing

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