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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · wind · march · object · mine · pitcher · field · date

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. root — of a plant
  3. mine — for digging
  4. march — the month
  5. date — the fruit
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. march — the month
  13. root — the cause
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. object — to protest
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. object — a thing
  18. field — for sport
  19. root — of a word
  20. object — an aim
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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