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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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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: root · bound · game · band · patient · bark · ground · land

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ground — crushed
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bound — obliged
  12. land — a country
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. game — wild animals
  16. band — a music group
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bound — tied together
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. root — of a word
  23. bound — certain
  24. game — a match

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