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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. root — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. root — of a word
  10. hand — help
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fall — the season
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. root — the cause
  18. fork — to eat with

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