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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 · kid · degree · field · bound · lean · pitcher · deal

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. root — of a word
  3. lean — thin
  4. field — for sport
  5. root — the cause
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. field — a subject
  16. deal — to handle
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. root — of a plant
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — obliged

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