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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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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: cell · fork · field · root · pound · bat

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — the cause
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cell — in biology
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — for sport
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cell — a phone

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