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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: ball · lash · land · root · cell · date · bat · field

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. land — to come down
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — a country
  8. field — farmland
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — ground
  16. root — the cause
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. root — of a word
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. field — for sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ball — a dance

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