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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 · bat · foot · land · spell · object · ground · field

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. object — an aim
  3. field — for sport
  4. ground — crushed
  5. land — to come down
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — of a plant
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spell — a short time
  10. root — of a word
  11. spell — letters
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. field — farmland
  18. object — a thing
  19. spell — magic
  20. root — the cause
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. object — to protest
  23. field — a subject
  24. bat — the animal

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