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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fall — to drop
  4. root — of a word
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — the season
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — a video
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fall — to drop
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fork — in a road

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