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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. prune — to trim
  3. board — to get on
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fork — in a road
  6. board — a committee
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. kid — child
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kick — in football
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. fine — all right
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. root — of a plant

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