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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wind — moving air
  3. root — of a word
  4. firm — a company
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fine — all right
  7. root — the cause
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. can — to be able to
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. field — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. wind — moving air
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. fine — high quality
  22. firm — decided
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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