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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.

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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: pound · root · field · mouse · leaves · bowl · tear · hand

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. root — of a word
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — help
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — farmland
  14. root — the cause
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. root — of a plant
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. leaves — of a tree

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