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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. tear — to rip
  3. roll — a cake
  4. root — of a word
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. field — farmland
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. row — to paddle
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a line
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. tear — from crying
  22. firm — decided
  23. firm — a company
  24. capital — a city

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