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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chip — to eat
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chip — for betting
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. root — of a plant
  12. scale — in music
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. kid — to tease
  17. dip — to sink
  18. root — the cause

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