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

Word bank: mine · content · face · firm · lean · root · bound · ground

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mine — for digging
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. face — to confront
  6. firm — decided
  7. root — the cause
  8. firm — steady
  9. ground — a position
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bound — tied together
  16. content — happy
  17. lean — thin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lean — to bend
  21. root — of a word
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. root — of a plant
  24. mine — belonging to me

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