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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. field — farmland
  3. cue — a hint
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fall — to drop
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fall — the season
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. drill — army training
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — decided
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a word
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cue — for pool

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