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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 116 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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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: bay · ruler · game · content · plane · root · field · wind

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. field — farmland
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — the cause
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — a match
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. field — for sport
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. root — of a word
  13. content — the amount
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. content — happy
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. game — a kind of play

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