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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.

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: game · field · perch · fine · sharp · foot · leaves · root

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. foot — a measure
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fine — high quality
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. root — of a plant
  9. field — farmland
  10. game — wild animals
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — all right
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. perch — the fish
  21. root — of a word
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. root — the cause
  24. sharp — with an edge

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