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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: mark · root · spring · row · field · bowl · bank · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spring — of water
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. root — of a word
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — for sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. field — farmland
  12. bank — for money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bank — for money
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. field — a subject
  17. mark — a grade
  18. spring — the season
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. root — the cause
  22. row — a line
  23. root — of a plant
  24. row — to paddle

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