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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: board · ground · fall · root · mine · row · spell · field

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fall — the season
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — to paddle
  9. root — of a word
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. root — the cause
  15. ground — crushed
  16. root — of a plant
  17. field — farmland
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — a position
  23. row — a line
  24. spell — magic

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