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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: game · bay · date · track · chair · rest · field · root

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. track — to keep track
  4. root — the cause
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chair — a leader
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. track — a song
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — a match
  15. track — a path
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. rest — what's left
  20. root — of a word
  21. rest — a break
  22. date — the fruit
  23. field — for sport
  24. root — of a plant

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