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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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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: field · bound · land · roll · bowl · coach · root · court

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bound — certain
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. land — a country
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — a subject
  8. roll — a list
  9. field — for sport
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. court — for sport
  12. land — to come down
  13. court — of a king
  14. land — ground
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. root — the cause
  17. bound — obliged
  18. roll — a cake
  19. court — of law
  20. bound — tied together
  21. root — of a word
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. root — of a plant

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