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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: wound · band · leaves · root · ground · kick · spring · season

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. band — a music group
  3. season — of the year
  4. spring — a coil
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. spring — the season
  7. kick — in football
  8. ground — a position
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a ring
  11. root — of a word
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a plant
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. spring — of water
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. season — in sport
  20. root — the cause
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. ground — crushed
  24. season — to add flavour

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