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

Word bank: root · march · dip · cold · tube · face · race · field

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. field — for sport
  6. race — the arms race
  7. face — part of the head
  8. march — the month
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — humankind
  11. march — music
  12. tube — a container
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. race — a contest
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. root — the cause
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. field — farmland
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. face — to confront

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