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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 116 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 · mine · ground · trunk · wind · tube · racket · field

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — the underground
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — for sport
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. tube — a container
  18. field — a subject
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. root — of a word
  22. field — farmland
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ground — crushed

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