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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pop — to visit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. roll — a list
  9. field — a subject
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pop — soda
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. field — farmland
  14. face — to point toward
  15. root — the cause
  16. field — for sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. root — of a word
  20. face — part of the head
  21. roll — a cake
  22. face — to confront
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. dip — to sink

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