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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 · bore · net · field · root · bat · pound · deal

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bore — to drill
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. root — of a word
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bat — the animal
  10. root — the cause
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. net — in sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. net — for catching
  18. root — of a plant
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cold — not warm
  22. field — farmland
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cold — an illness

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