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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: root · field · key · file · bank · wound · cap · land

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. field — farmland
  3. root — of a plant
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. land — to come down
  7. key — for a lock
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. land — a country
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bank — for money
  15. cap — a lid
  16. file — a document
  17. field — for sport
  18. land — ground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. field — a subject
  22. file — a tool
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wound — an injury

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