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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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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: game · club · season · root · chest · ground · current · track

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. club — for dancing
  3. ground — a position
  4. current — electric
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ground — the earth
  9. root — the cause
  10. season — in sport
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. current — happening now
  14. track — to keep track
  15. game — wild animals
  16. current — of water
  17. chest — of your body
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — a box
  20. season — of the year
  21. chest — of your body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. track — a song
  24. game — a match

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