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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wake · squash · root · object · land · cabinet · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — ground
  5. object — a thing
  6. land — to come down
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. squash — to crush
  11. root — of a word
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. root — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. object — an aim
  16. field — farmland
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. object — to protest
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. field — a subject
  22. root — the cause
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — a country

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