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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · root · bear · content · deal · drill · firm · spring

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — a company
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. content — the amount
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. root — of a word
  12. firm — decided
  13. bear — the animal
  14. root — the cause
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. deal — to handle
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. drill — army training

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