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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: root · rest · pound · field · content · bat · face · foot

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. face — to confront
  3. foot — a measure
  4. root — of a plant
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. field — for sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. field — farmland
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. rest — a break
  24. content — videos and posts

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