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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: ground · root · lash · face · net · cue · field · race

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cue — a signal
  3. field — for sport
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ground — a position
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. root — of a word
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — farmland
  12. root — of a plant
  13. race — the arms race
  14. face — part of the head
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. race — a contest
  17. cue — for pool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. root — the cause
  20. field — a subject
  21. net — in sport
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cue — a hint
  24. race — humankind

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