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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: cabinet · last · wind · field · content · arm · ground · root

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. field — a subject
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. field — farmland
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. root — the cause
  11. last — final
  12. root — of a plant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. content — happy
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. last — finally
  17. root — of a word
  18. content — the amount
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. field — for sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ground — crushed

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