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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: race · field · root · deal · hide · nail · capital · fork

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — a contest
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. race — humankind
  10. root — of a word
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. field — for sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. capital — a city
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. capital — money
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. deal — to handle
  24. fork — in a road

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