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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: wind · foot · field · fall · sharp · ground · pop · bear

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — a position
  9. fall — the season
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. ground — the earth
  18. field — a subject
  19. pop — soda
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — for sport
  24. bear — to put up with

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