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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. swing — music
  3. ground — a position
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — to play on
  11. hand — help
  12. field — for sport
  13. last — final
  14. hand — in cards
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. field — farmland
  18. root — the cause
  19. field — a subject
  20. last — finally
  21. toast — bread
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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