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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fork — in a road
  3. land — to come down
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. root — the cause
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. land — ground
  8. net — in sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — the underground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. land — a country
  14. tube — a container
  15. root — of a word
  16. net — for catching
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mark — a trace
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mark — a grade
  24. net — after costs

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