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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: fall · last · bore · field · racket · bowl · band · root

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fall — the season
  6. root — the cause
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a music group
  9. bore — to drill
  10. band — a ring
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. last — final
  13. field — for sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — finally
  17. root — of a word
  18. field — farmland
  19. last — to go on
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bore — to tire

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