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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · land · field · bore · clip · kick · bear · root

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. root — of a plant
  3. land — a country
  4. field — farmland
  5. root — the cause
  6. bear — the animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — ground
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. kick — in football
  17. root — of a word
  18. land — to come down
  19. field — for sport
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — a subject

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