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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: drill · foot · firm · bowl · face · game · kid · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. firm — steady
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. face — to confront
  5. foot — a measure
  6. root — the cause
  7. firm — decided
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. face — part of the head
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. root — of a word
  15. firm — a company
  16. game — wild animals
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. face — to point toward
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. drill — a practice

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