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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. drill — army training
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. court — of a king
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. field — a subject
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. fork — in a road
  13. court — of law
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. drill — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. shower — rain
  21. court — for sport
  22. root — of a word
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — farmland

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