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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: field · foot · race · saw · coach · clip · shower · root

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. race — the arms race
  3. clip — a video
  4. race — a contest
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — the tool
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. race — humankind
  12. root — the cause
  13. clip — to cut
  14. field — for sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. root — of a plant
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. root — of a word
  21. shower — rain
  22. foot — a measure
  23. field — a subject
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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