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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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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: ground · root · season · file · track · face · last · game

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. file — a document
  3. ground — the earth
  4. season — of the year
  5. last — to go on
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. root — of a plant
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a match
  10. face — to point toward
  11. track — a path
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — a position
  14. last — final
  15. root — of a word
  16. ground — crushed
  17. game — wild animals
  18. face — part of the head
  19. track — a song
  20. file — a line of people
  21. track — to keep track
  22. face — to confront
  23. last — finally
  24. season — in sport

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