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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: field · drill · ground · patient · stem · board · clip · root

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. root — the cause
  5. drill — the tool
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — crushed
  10. field — for sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — a subject
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. root — of a word
  21. clip — to cut
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — a video
  24. root — of a plant

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