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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: swing · spring · cell · bound · wake · field · root · foot

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cell — in biology
  4. root — the cause
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wake — a trail
  7. swing — music
  8. spring — the season
  9. bound — obliged
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bound — certain
  14. swing — in golf
  15. spring — of water
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bound — tied together
  18. field — farmland
  19. foot — a measure
  20. spring — a coil
  21. root — of a word
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. field — a subject
  24. swing — to play on

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