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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 116 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: root · cold · plane · dip · bowl · lean · mouse · field

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. field — for sport
  9. root — of a word
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — to bend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. field — farmland
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. root — the cause

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