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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. firm — decided
  4. field — farmland
  5. fork — in a road
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. firm — a company
  8. root — the cause
  9. firm — steady
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. field — for sport
  12. root — of a word
  13. tear — from crying
  14. object — a thing
  15. content — happy
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. content — the amount
  18. root — of a plant
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — an aim
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. snap — to click
  24. fork — a garden tool

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