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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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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: current · nail · squash · root · ground · field · content · roll

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. roll — a list
  3. current — happening now
  4. content — the amount
  5. current — of water
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. ground — a position
  9. field — farmland
  10. root — of a plant
  11. field — for sport
  12. content — happy
  13. current — electric
  14. root — the cause
  15. roll — a cake
  16. squash — the sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. root — of a word
  20. ground — crushed
  21. squash — to crush
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ground — the earth
  24. squash — the vegetable

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