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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a ring
  4. root — the cause
  5. track — a path
  6. firm — decided
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. firm — steady
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chest — a box
  12. lean — thin
  13. track — to keep track
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. field — farmland
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. firm — a company
  23. root — of a word
  24. track — a song

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