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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: bass · field · face · sharp · suit · land · band · root

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. suit — to fit
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. root — the cause
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. land — to come down
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. land — ground
  14. face — to point toward
  15. root — of a word
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. suit — in cards
  18. field — for sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. face — to confront
  21. field — farmland
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bass — the fish
  24. suit — clothes

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