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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. 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. fork — a garden tool
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. season — in sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. root — the cause
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. chip — to eat
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cold — an illness
  18. root — of a word
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chip — for betting
  24. 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