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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. 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. bank — of a river
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — for paper
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — to wash
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fork — in a road
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. root — of a plant
  24. 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