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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: cold · ruler · fine · face · root · perch · field · ground

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. field — for sport
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ground — crushed
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fine — all right
  12. root — of a plant
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. fine — high quality
  16. root — of a word
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cold — an illness
  20. face — to point toward
  21. root — the cause
  22. ground — a position
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — the Cold War

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