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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. root — of a word
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. vault — a safe
  6. tear — from crying
  7. content — happy
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. field — a subject
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — to paddle
  12. branch — a division
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. root — the cause
  15. content — the amount
  16. row — a line
  17. root — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. foot — a measure
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. field — for sport

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