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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: bear · root · mate · saw · field · hand · row · lean

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. field — for sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. lean — to bend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — the animal
  11. root — the cause
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — in cards
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. field — a subject
  23. root — of a word
  24. lean — thin

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