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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.

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: fall · land · root · fine · trunk · sharp · field · pound

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. root — of a word
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. pound — a weight
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fine — high quality
  10. land — to come down
  11. sharp — clever
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. field — a subject
  15. root — of a plant
  16. field — farmland
  17. land — ground
  18. fall — to drop
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. root — the cause

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