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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 · ball · field · race · row · face · present · cell

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. race — humankind
  3. face — part of the head
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. field — farmland
  8. face — to confront
  9. row — a line
  10. field — a subject
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cell — a phone
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. root — the cause
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ball — a dance
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. face — to point toward
  24. race — a contest

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