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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: pop · ground · leaves · mine · field · root · hand · safe

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. root — of a word
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. pop — music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ground — the earth
  8. root — the cause
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. root — of a plant
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ground — a position
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. hand — in cards
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. field — for sport
  24. pop — soda

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