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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — in sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bear — the animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bear — the animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. root — the cause
  20. season — of the year
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. field — for sport
  24. bear — to put up with

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