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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 116 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: field · wake · mug · spring · root · pound

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mug — a face
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — for sport
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — a cup
  9. root — the cause
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. field — a subject
  15. pound — a weight
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. field — farmland

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