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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: ground · bark · wound · rest · field · mate · root · pitch

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. field — a subject
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mate — a partner
  10. root — the cause
  11. wound — an injury
  12. root — of a word
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pitch — completely
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. ground — a position
  21. field — farmland
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rest — a break
  24. field — for sport

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