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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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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: mark · hand · swing · field · root · race · trunk · mouse

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. root — of a word
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — music
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. root — of a plant
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mark — a trace
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mark — a grade
  22. root — the cause
  23. race — a contest
  24. swing — in golf

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