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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · face · field · rash · game · wind · pop · root

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — farmland
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — for sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rash — a series
  10. root — the cause
  11. rule — government
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pop — music
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. game — a match
  24. pop — soda

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