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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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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: fall · root · hand · wake · charge · saw · field · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hand — help
  6. ground — a position
  7. saw — the tool
  8. charge — electricity
  9. root — of a word
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — a subject
  13. root — the cause
  14. charge — in control
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. charge — a price
  19. fall — the season
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — farmland
  24. ground — the earth

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