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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: nail · cabinet · clip · saw · root · field · band · court

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. saw — the tool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — for sport
  7. root — the cause
  8. field — farmland
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — for sport
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. court — of law
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. root — of a word
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. band — a music group
  21. court — of a king
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. clip — to cut
  24. band — a ring

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