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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: ground · spring · fall · cabinet · field · foot · pop · rash

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. field — farmland
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pop — music
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. fall — the season
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — for sport
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rash — a series
  15. spring — of water
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pop — soda
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — a subject
  24. pop — to visit

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