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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: patient · root · field · hand · court · march · foot · race

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. hand — in cards
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. foot — a measure
  9. court — of a king
  10. root — of a plant
  11. march — music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. march — the month
  15. race — a contest
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. root — of a word
  18. march — the month
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. field — for sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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