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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mark — a trace
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. root — of a word
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. chip — to eat
  19. field — for sport
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitch — completely
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. chip — for betting

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