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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: field · row · rash · pound · ground · season · branch · root

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — farmland
  3. season — in sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. branch — a division
  14. pound — a weight
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rash — hasty
  18. season — of the year
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rash — a series
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rash — on the skin

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