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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: game · root · stand · cold · leaves · foot · field · pit

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. root — the cause
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stand — to bear
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. pit — in a race
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — for sport
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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