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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: roll · branch · ground · capital · foot · trunk · field · bowl

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. foot — a measure
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. field — farmland
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. field — a subject
  9. ground — the earth
  10. roll — a cake
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. roll — a list
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. ground — a position

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