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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. root — of a plant
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. rule — a law
  7. root — the cause
  8. season — of the year
  9. lean — to bend
  10. content — the amount
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. field — farmland
  13. bulb — for light
  14. lean — thin
  15. field — a subject
  16. rule — government
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bulb — for light
  23. root — of a word
  24. ball — a great time

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