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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: staff · game · fan · root · wound · foot · ground · hand

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — the earth
  4. hand — in cards
  5. root — the cause
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. game — wild animals
  13. root — of a word
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. ground — crushed
  19. hand — help
  20. staff — a stick
  21. ground — a position
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. foot — a measure
  24. fan — to cool the air

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