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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 120 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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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: kid · fall · rule · land · perch · root · pass · field

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. fall — the season
  2. field — farmland
  3. kid — child
  4. field — a subject
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pass — a permit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — ground
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — a country
  17. root — of a word
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. land — to come down
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rule — a law
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  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