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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: root · tube · stand · field · land · lean · roll · band

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. band — a music group
  4. field — farmland
  5. tube — the underground
  6. root — the cause
  7. roll — a cake
  8. root — of a plant
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stand — to bear
  11. root — of a word
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. tube — a container
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. band — a ring
  20. field — for sport
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. land — to come down
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. roll — a list

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