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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: season · cell · root · field · mine · firm · net · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. season — in sport
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. root — of a word
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. root — the cause
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. firm — decided
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. firm — steady
  20. rock — a stone
  21. season — of the year
  22. mine — for digging
  23. firm — a company
  24. cell — in biology

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