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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. drill — a practice
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. ground — crushed
  6. drill — army training
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. ground — a position
  20. root — of a word
  21. sharp — clever
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — the earth
  24. root — the cause

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