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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 120 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: root · clip · lash · fan · ground · land · wave · field

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. land — ground
  10. clip — to cut
  11. land — a country
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. ground — a position
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. land — to come down
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. field — a subject
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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