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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — child
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kid — to tease
  6. root — of a plant
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. root — the cause
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fork — in a road
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. craft — boats
  18. root — of a word

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